Photographers - Part 61

Peter Berlin

Peter Berlin is a German-American photographer, artist, filmmaker, clothing designer, and model.  He was born as Armin Hagen Freiherr von Hoyningen-Huene in 1942 in German-occupied Poland.  He grew up in an aristocratic family in Berlin, Germany.

Above: Self Portrait on the Subway, 1970s.  Note the bulge in his pants.

In the early 1970s he moved to San Francisco.  In 1973 he collaborated with a friend on a gay porn film called Nights in Black Leather in which he starred.  In the film he was credited as Peter Burian, but another actor named Peter Burian threatened a lawsuit, so he changed his name to Peter Berlin, and under that name he became famous.

Above: Self-portrait with Camera.

As a follow-up, he made another gay erotic film That Boy in 1974.  He became friends with Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, and Rudolf Nuryev, and he was photographed by Robert Mapplethorpe.

Peter Berlin also made a large number of his own photos, mostly self-portraits, mostly nude and many with erections.  Above, Self Portrait in Black Tank Top on the Piers.

This is called Double Self Portrait in White Mist, but I wonder if the white mist is because the film wasn't developed properly.

Self Portrait in Green Pants.

Double Self Portrait with Whip II (there was an earlier black and white photo called Double Self Portrait with Whip).

Double Self Portrait with Red Bandana.  All of these self-portraits date from the 1970s.

Although his photos show much nudity and even masturbation, they do not show gay sex.  But his films do.  We end with a clip from his first film Nights in Black Leather, showing him getting sucked by another guy whom he is treating as a slave.

Peter Berlin now lives quietly in San Francisco, where he is still recognized on the streets.  He is 82 years old.